Wednesday, October 16, 2024

I’m due in the opening shift at my part-time job. This is a brief good morning to you all.

Among the socks with images of women leaders I appreciate, my friend Bill (who gifted the socks to me) included a pair with Nancy’s image. I managed to overlook those and just last night discovered the Nancy socks. She rounds out my sock collection of impressive contemporary ladies. Now, I have socks with images of RGB, Kamala, and Nancy; I’d add an “Eleanor pair” in a heartbeat.

A neighbor has invited friends in the area over on election night. It’ll be a nail-biting event that will have us all either celebrating wildly or commiserating sadly. It’s a great idea since almost everybody, everywhere, will be on edge, waiting for election outcomes.

Now, I’m off to feed horses before getting ready for work.

Dear Friends: Tomorrow evening’s sky will offer a beautiful fall full moon. Diana

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

The authors of this 2012 book received the 2024 Nobel Prize for Literature yesterday. Today, I read a review summarizing their work. Their logic about an ever-changing world tracks with real-time nation-changes that occurred after its publication. The authors supplied unarguable data to support their observations, conclusions, and theories.

My learning this morning while reviewing felt awesome. I decided to order the book.

This was a big seller in its early years. Finding it now is difficult, especially in hardcover, which I wanted. However, the book’s win and renewed attention will soon bring reprints.

How I’ve changed! Unlike my tendency to focus on the situational while I grew up, today’s wide-world affairs are more fascinating to me. My views have become less on the here and now and more on the there and beyond.

Surely, technology is altering my views and will continue to do so. It produces constant (and ever more rapidly) new information. Nowadays, AI can reinforce information and enable rapid data checking.

We’re experiencing the impact of so much information in real time. This election cycle is proving rapid beyond belief. Maybe we will witness an unconflicted transition of power, which may diminish our anxieties.

Dear Friends: Blah, blah; maybe this book will help me grasp and hold. Diana

Sunday, October 13, 2024

That’s me, helping to celebrate the Beauty Department’s “pink day” yesterday at the department store where I work part-time. I am assigned to work near Beauty in Jewelry, and someone suggested I wear pink and help support Beauty’s special day. I don’t have much pink clothing, but I chipped in and did my best.

Hanging from my neck are keys to my kingdom, the Jewelry Department. Looking closely, you might also see a golden Aspen Leaf hanging, a gift from my Cousin Mary years ago.

Mary lives in Southern California, where I lived before moving to Central Oregon. We are close and love autumn. We’re awed by nature’s color-changing and its power in general. The bright pendant speaks volumes, and everybody “gets it.” To me, it represents my cousin’s nearness and support.

Aside from the pink color, those keys, and that shiny pendant, my facial expression is vague. Maybe it’s my surprise at being photographed. Nonetheless, the image works overall. It captures a moment of the “special Pink Event” and my “Cousin Mary connection.”

Dear Friends: More evidence of a single image being worth 1,000+ words. Diana

Saturday, October 12, 2024

Today, I must be at work by 8:30. This early shift is mine, hopefully only temporarily, while a colleague who usually works early shifts is on vacation.

Besides, the shift is earlier than usual. The store has suddenly changed its opening and closing times, moving them back by one hour. So this eight-thirty shift start, before this week, was a nine-thirty start. The colleague on vacation won’t be a bit happier about it than me.

This is as much blogging as I can crank out quickly. My remaining free early hours will be spent feeding the animals and preparing to leave for my outside job.

I’ve considered taking a hiatus from my part-time gig, but with the holiday season beginning, the store’s business has picked up. Like other large stores, ours has too few dependable employees, and it wouldn’t be right to leave my job now, not even for a while.

Dear Friends: I’m Old School worker, appreciating employment and sticking with it. Diana

Friday, October 11, 2024

I’m busy preparing my property’s outdoor elements for winter. My daunting to-do list must be completed before winter’s icy grip forces me indoors. Today, I will kill weeds, clean more in my woodworking shop, and reinforce several dog kennel wire welds broken by my puppy Chase in his determination to escape. Later today, I will work in my outdoor job.

Whew, that’s plenty! With more ahead on my list, maybe “daunting” is an understatement. Today, I will stay on track by focusing on the identified tasks. Tomorrow, I will challenge myself to select other to-do items and get them done.

Aside from the work I must do, I enjoy bundling up slightly against our cooling weather. I have missed wearing sweaters and light jackets. They keep me warm now before the sun rises and after it sets.

Here in Central Oregon, anticipating a coming winter or coming spring usually is a big deal because this area’s traditional weather can be harsh and lasting. These days, however, I’m adjusting my perspective because of the killer weather that’s hitting the East Coast. Our local weather is complex but less fearsome. I wonder if we might experience our weather ahead as hugely different from what we’ve known.

Dear Friends: Let’s cherish what’s good, available, and affordable–while still they’re so. Diana

Wednesday, October 09, 2024

With a light blanket covering my shoulders, I ventured outside onto the deck (“my part” that the dogs can’t get into). I sat in today’s early light, contemplating the hours ahead and sipping from a mug of steaming coffee. I was relaxed, and something tapping deeply inside encouraged me to reimagine the drifting steam as new art.

Quiet moments like those remind me to keep a sketchpad or a camera handy. Routinely carrying a shoulder bag is one way to have one or both nearby, but bag-carrying is cumbersome.

This morning became more special after I realized I was not scheduled to work today in my part-time job. There’s no telling why I didn’t notice that today I’m off; maybe because much work to do at home is on my mind.

It’s not just work; I plan to build a lightweight and portable table. It’s primarily for my sewing room but will be easily moveable to other areas.

Dear Friends: I’m still visualizing that rising steam; have a wonderful day! Diana

Tuesday, October 08, 2024

Today, I am off from my part-time job; however, I must go there anyway for an hour of special training related to my role in jewelry sales.

In my pre-retirement career, I was a learning and development professional in the corporate world. I specialized in group dynamics, line communications, and organizational goals support. In my couple of years working in retail here in Central Oregon, employee training has been a matter of brief rallies, quick instructions, and lots of pressure.

We get it: retail is highly competitive. Improvements in technology are changing the game. Retail has become a nonending competition of online vs. in-person sales. Worker availability and hiring processes are changing.

I have learned that, regardless of an organization’s goals and economic pressures, it needs to provide more effective employee training, which has been designed for specific roles and for group learning. In-person trainers can deliver and teach better than computers. People sitting and learning together, asking questions and discussing, will do better work and can help each other more while performing their jobs.

Yesterday, a young employee newly working in the Intimates Department rushed over, confused by having been asked for help to “find a brassiere.” That sales clerk’s job was to sell bras.

Dear Friends: These are stressful times, with mine a voice in the wilderness. Diana